Friday, 6 July 2012

Yemen: Silence on transitional justice


The draft bill on transitional justice was sent to parliament in the spring but little has been heard since. It appears to be in the in-trays of President Abd al-Rab Mansour Hadi and Prime Minister Mohammed Basindwa, probably in the 'too difficult' category.

It will have to be sent to parliament in the next few weeks but it will cause a lot of difficulty because of contradictions behind the bill. Ali Abdullah Saleh and his associates have been granted immunity but there are demands that they be held accountable in some way for their misdeeds. The political elite may understand the need for a pragmatic approach but large sections of the population do not. One who doesn't is Nobel laureate Tawakkul Karman.

A video has appeared on YouTube – and been given some publicity in Yemen – of what appears to be human rights abuses carried out by soldiers of the First Armoured Division commanded by General Ali Mohsen against revolutionaries who did not welcome his support. Revolutionaries have also accused Islah of trying to force the removal of protesters in Change Square.

For more news and expert analysis about Yemen, please see Yemen Focus.

© 2012 Menas Associates

No comments:

Post a Comment